The World

Swedish prosecutors in the case of slain Prime Minister Olof Palme suffered another setback when a third government witness backed off from earlier statements implicating defendant Christer Pettersson, 42. Prosecution witness Harri Sandberg-Miekkalina said police misunderstood a pretrial statement he made about Pettersson in which he told them Pettersson hated Palme. "It was I who hated Olof Palme, not Pettersson," he said, adding police induced him to incriminate Pettersson by suggesting he would get part of a $7.5-million reward. Later witnesses gave contradictory testimony regarding Pettersson's whereabouts on the day of Palme's slaying.